A steam train passed

In April 2021, former NSW Government Railways steam locomotive 3801 spent three days operating out of Junee, on the Main South railway from Sydney to Albury.

The loco had been out of service for 12 years for a major overhaul, so its return was widely anticipated, and drew enthusiasts from across NSW and Victoria to travel behind, and photograph it. So much so, that over the previous Easter weekend at Albury, and during the three days it operated out of Junee, 6000 people rode behind the train.

Built in 1943 for express passenger service, and retired in 1963, in preservation, the loco has visited every mainland state and territory, and is an icon of the the rail industry, and a stunning example of Art Deco streamlining.

In 1974  3801 featured in an award winning short film produced ‘A Steam Train Passes’, shot by Dean Semler, which was set in the 1940s, and, aside from a short Cinesound introduction from when the locomotive was launched, features no narrative.

The original film has been preserved at the National Film and Sound Archive, and is available to download in full for a fee, although short pieces can be found on the internet, seeing the original in one piece is a better experience.

The film is the inspiration for this series, cameos of the magnificent steam loco at rest, and then doing what it does best, working a passenger train through the towns and countryside of NSW, as it did when it was in regular service.

I’ve assembled the series in night through to dusk timeline for continuity, but they were taken on different days.

While not shooting the same scenes or locations, I've gone a bit Dennis Denuto, and settled on 'It's the vibe'.

I hope those who have seen the film can appreciate what I've tried to achieve.

It was a roughly 2000km trip in four days, but was worth the drive. Particularly when we arrived in Junee on the Thursday night, and the loco was sitting in the yard, ready for the following days trips to Cootamundra and return.

For some reason, I'd expected the loco to be tucked away in the safety of the roundhouse, but it was sitting in the yard, nicely lit under lights, looking fantastic.

After dinner at the Junee Hotel, I headed over with my camera and tripod, and explored a few different shots, and soaked up the atmosphere. The detail of the glistening machinery, glossy finish of the freshly overhauled engine, and smell of warm oil and coal fire. A couple of freights came and went, changing crews in the platform, just adding to the evening.

The yard was still, with little noise apart from the gently simmering engine, a peaceful way to get reacquainted with the big engine. Streamline Moderne is the name of my favourite image from the night, it’s been published in a couple of magazines, including Steam Railway in the UK.

The sleek streamlined casing of 3801 glistening under the yard lights at Junee.

Early morning, leaving Junee just on sunrise to get photos of the train on the way to Wagga the glint of the rails caught my eye in the rear view mirror as we went over a rise. Doing a U turn, a vantage point on a hillside between the road and a farmers fence, we stood shivering in the cold. Eventually the sound of the hard working engine, and then exhaust steam could be seen as it came over the hill and around the curve.

Driving South, the top of the first climb heading south from Junee has been reached, as the train heads to Wagga Wagga

Not quite the steam hanging in the suburbs beautifully captured in A Steam Train Passes, but you might recognise this photo from my website, and limited edition prints - Driving South, it’s certainly one of my favourites.

The wide Murrumbidgee floodplains on the north side of Wagga require an equally long bridge to cross them. Reinforced with concrete and additional bracing since it was first built, it still carries all the rail traffic between Melbourne and Sydney. The 38 and its train looked great on the trestle framed by river gums which have seen many floods spread out across the broad plain.

Crossing the long Murrumbidgee river trestle which spans the wide floodplain.

South of Wagga, the railway climbs past the Kapooka military academy, Kapooka Thunder was taken with a backdrop of gunfire prior to the train arriving, and sizzling bacon as we cooked breakfast while waiting for the train. One of the scenes in the movie is the driver preparing bacon and eggs on the shovel in the firebox while the fireman tops up the tender - ours wasn’t flame grilled, but certainly went down a treat!

Kapooka Thunder, the 38 with its sharp exhaust drowns out rifle fire from the nearby barracks.

Hard at it  - green, cream and chrome capped with swirling exhaust as the train works hard climbing out of Wagga toward Kapooka.

Eye level with the streamlined casing and swirling exhaust, there’s no mistaking where the chimney of the loco is.

On our first morning at Junee, we headed down to the station to join the train on the first of three trips between Junee and Cootamundra, both big railway and commercial centres in their day, as evidenced by the wide streets, and numerous country pubs with accommodation and broad verandahs.

In ‘A Steam Train Passes’, two young soldiers have a beer in the front bar of a pub before quickly running to join the train, presumably on their way to war. Looking at the train, and Junee Hotel, it made me wonder how many young Junee men had a last beer there before joining a train there before heading off?

Junee Sojourn, the pub with its broad verandah is a great place of a beer and train watching, but the view looking back with the 38 in frame speaks for what Junee is about, a railway town, and a centre for the surrounding farming region.

Bethungra spiral is a feature of the line between Junee and Cootamundra, where the line climbs round a hill, passing through two tunnels and over itself to gain height on an easier gradient. It once featured vertical sided stone cuttings, an interesting feature of some NSWGR lines, but the spiral had its cuttings opened out in the 1990s to mitigate against rockfalls.

The train has just passed under the down line, and is about to enter a second short tunnel, which it will pass over as it completes the spiral.

I captured the train on the lower level of the climb passing between two short tunnels under the down line, and the line it would soon travel over itself on the second trip, and on the lower slope in golden sunlight later in the afternoon on the third.

One lap around. The track just visible above the grass is the lower approach to the spiral, the train has completed a lap of the hill, and will soon be passing back over it. The line with the stairs is the down track, which takes a more direct, steeper route, not an issue for trains descending the grade.

Almost out of light at the end of a long day of train shuttles and photography, the train drifts downhill across the Cootamundry Creek, on the outskirts of Cootamundra. Caught at Cootamundry has some nice soft golden light picking up the streamlined casing of the loco as it leads the cars down the hill.

The return to Junee was after dark, a great listening experience. I videoed this last scene as the light was gone, but I’ll finish with a still from that video of the train climbing hard, the glow from the open firebox illuminating the exhaust, and carriages casting light on the opposite track and paddocks, great memories to have.

Passing under Dirnaseer Road at the top of the long climb out of Cootamundra, and into the night.

With 3801 coming back again from major overhaul in June 2026, I’m hoping to get to see and travel behind the loco again, and maybe explore some more iconic locations to capture scenes from the movie to share with you.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series inspired by a cinematic classic, and get the opportunity to see it yourself, either for the first time, or to make a re-acquaintance.

Let me know what you think of it, and any special memories you have of 3801.

Scott